# What is the WhatsApp Business API? > The WhatsApp Business API — Meta now calls it the WhatsApp Business Platform, most often used as its Cloud API — connects a business’s WhatsApp number to software instead of one phone. The free WhatsApp Business app suits one person answering by hand on a phone; the API suits a team: several people answer from one shared inbox, each chat lands on the customer’s record, and messages can go out as templates and automations. A customer can message you at any time; you can reply with anything for 24 hours after their last message; outside that window you start the chat with a template WhatsApp has approved. Meta charges for templates at rates it sets per country, and since 1 October 2026 for replies too, after the first 1,000 a month on each number. In SkedX Flow you get the API by connecting your number in Settings → Channels → WhatsApp, which opens WhatsApp’s own signup window. Product: SkedX Flow · Topic: Channels · Draft — steps not yet re-verified in the live product · Updated 2026-11-03 The WhatsApp Business API is how a business number stops living on one phone: WhatsApp connects it to software, so your whole team answers from one inbox and every chat lands on the customer’s record. Here is what it is, when you need it instead of the free app, how messages and costs work, and how to get it in SkedX Flow. ## Step 1: The app and the API, side by side The **WhatsApp Business app** is free and lives on one phone: you answer each chat by hand. The **WhatsApp Business API** connects your business number to software instead — in SkedX Flow, one shared inbox that a whole team answers together, with each chat on the customer’s record. Meta now calls it the WhatsApp Business Platform; most businesses use its Cloud API through a provider. ## Step 2: When you need the API instead of the app Move to the API when more than one person answers, when chats must reach your records and reports, when you send templates to many customers at once, or when automations should reply for you. A shop where one person answers a few chats a day is fine on the app. ## Step 3: How messages work: the 24-hour window and templates A customer can message you at any time. For **24 hours** after their last message you can reply with anything — text, pictures, files. After that, or to start a chat yourself, you send a **template**: a message WhatsApp approved in advance (see [Get a WhatsApp template approved](https://skode.ai/help/flow/templates/get-a-whatsapp-template-approved/)). ## Step 4: What it costs Meta charges for the templates you send at rates it sets per country and changes from time to time. Since 1 October 2026 it charges replies too, after the first 1,000 a month on each number; a chat that began from a click-to-WhatsApp ad is free for 72 hours. Meta lists its current rates on its pricing page. ## Step 5: Get it in SkedX Flow Go to **Settings -> Channels -> WhatsApp** and click **Add Number**. Flow opens WhatsApp’s own signup window: sign in to Facebook as your business’s admin, add the number and press **Finish**. Every step, with a video: [Connect your WhatsApp number to SkedX Flow](https://skode.ai/help/flow/channels/connect-your-whatsapp-number-to-skode-flow/). Open it directly: https://flow.skode.ai/settings?tab=channels&channel=whatsapp ## Common questions ### Is the WhatsApp Business API free? Not entirely. Meta charges for templates at its own rates, and for replies after the first 1,000 a month on each number. What each message costs in SkedX Flow: [Free WhatsApp replies and what each message costs](https://skode.ai/help/flow/channels/free-whatsapp-replies-and-what-each-message-costs/). ### Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app on my phone? Yes, with a number that is already in the app: in the signup window pick **Connect a WhatsApp Business app** and scan the QR from inside the app. ### What is a BSP? A Business Solution Provider — a company Meta lets connect businesses to the API. SkedX Flow connects your number through one, inside its own signup window, so there is nothing extra to set up. ### Can a template go to anyone? Only to people who agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp, and only a template WhatsApp approved. A customer who blocks or reports you lowers your number’s standing. Videos and screenshots © 2026 SkedX, with sample data only. Share and link to them freely; copying the SkedX product or its design is not allowed. Terms: https://skode.ai/terms/ ## Related guides - Reply to Instagram and Messenger chats: up to 7 days: https://skode.ai/help/flow/inbox/reply-to-instagram-and-messenger-chats/ - Free WhatsApp replies and what each message costs: https://skode.ai/help/flow/channels/free-whatsapp-replies-and-what-each-message-costs/ - Connect your WhatsApp number to SkedX Flow: https://skode.ai/help/flow/channels/connect-your-whatsapp-number-to-skode-flow/ - Get a WhatsApp template approved: https://skode.ai/help/flow/templates/get-a-whatsapp-template-approved/ - Move your WhatsApp Business app number from another provider to SkedX Flow: https://skode.ai/help/flow/channels/move-your-whatsapp-business-app-number-from-another-provider/ Source: https://skode.ai/help/flow/channels/what-is-the-whatsapp-business-api/